Inktober had been on my list for so long that I had to try it this year or forget about it. I was super excited to finally get to it, and thought I would record my experience. I did want to do all 31 prompts, which did not happen. As always, life got in the way. If I did not start a YouTube Channel, I’m guessing I would have done more than what I did. But I do not regret making process videos. It did take me a long time to understand how to film and edit in the best way that works for me. I’m happy to report that I have become considerably faster with each video.
My Inktober experience
I did enjoy the sketching and drawing process especially since I was working with stories. However I hated working with ink. Unlike watercolour, it dried when I didn’t want it to dry and bled into the drawing when I thought it had dried. This frustrated me and I ended up colouring only 14 out of 31 even though I had drawn the rest. The silver lining here is that I do have sketches for the rest of the stories. I will try to complete them using either watercolour or Photoshop.
5 Things I wish someone had told me about Inktober:
1. Start a few weeks in advance. Having some buffer time helps to make up for those really busy or sick days.
2. Instead of editing each video one at a time, try batch processing. That saves a lot of time.
3. Some inks take a long time to dry. Keep a hairdryer ready.
4. If you are doing any background washes, the paper needs to be stretched or it will bend. Tape it down before you start.
5. Don’t overthink it. In a monthly challenge, it is highly unlikely that all pieces will be your best work.
One of my favourites was Yali, the part elephant, part horse creature.
Verdict: I did enjoy the challenge but not the medium. I would love to do another drawing challenge with characters but not in ink.
Related Read: My Inktober theme for 2018 and YouTube Channel here.
Check out: My Inktober 2018 Playlist on YouTube.
